Letter From Your Pastor

As the saying goes, “that’s a wrap!” Vacation Bible School was a great experience for everyone involved. We sang silly songs about being a hero for the gospel, sharing the love of God, listening to God, and following Jesus. These young students acted out the stories of the Magi, of Paul’s call to preach the gospel, and to leave everything behind to follow Jesus. Children made all kinds of crafts and engaged in science experiments that reinforced the ideas they heard in the Bible stories. Our youth helpers and other volunteers told and retold the stories and the deep truths of the scripture over and over. Joy filled this place and it filled our hearts.

I’ve learned that we cannot have joy apart from Jesus and it is so often the case that our children are the ones who remind us of that. When we share Jesus with children, we are so often the ones who are taught what it means to follow, to listen and to love because we must speak the gospel in its most basic form. The disciples were called, and they left everything to follow; the wise men saw a new star and they knew something special was ahead; Paul became a teacher of the gospel because Jesus showed him how much God wanted all people to hear the good news of God’s love. There is joy in those stories, and it was revealed in the children. There may be a lesson in this for all of us.

Blessings,

Pastor Denise

Upcoming All-Church Summit

Ice Cream Sundaes & Quarterly Update from Board Leadership

This Tuesday, you are invited to attend this quarterly update from our leadership team on financial health, building repairs and updates, 2023 goals, and other committee reports.

Prior to the presentations, we will have all the ingredients for a heavenly ice cream sundae to help cool the summer heat. We will be meeting in Binkley Hall on the main campus and hope to see you there.

Thank you & More Mission Opportunities

Texoma Family Shelter Needs Your Help

It was joyous to see 72 children come together this week to learn, play, and sing as they discovered that heroes are called to follow Jesus, help others, work together, listen to God, and show grace. The many donations we received of supplies, snacks, and more added your generosity and love to this annual program. We appreciate the hard work and efforts by all in making 2023's VBS spectacular.

Still want to be involved in the summer missions?

While VBS might be over, the wonderful kids have asked you to be a part of their mission project that they have collected for this week. Their project was to help meet the urgent need for food donations to the Texoma Family Shelter. The following items are being collected and will be delivered Monday:

• sandwich bread
• juice
• Bisquick or non-refrigerated biscuits
• individually wrapped snacks for kids

If you would like to participate, you can bring your donation to the church office by Monday, June 12th at noon. If you would like to contribute to the purchase of perishable items for the Texoma Family Shelter, you can make a donation here. Please write "Texoma Family Shelter" in the memo line.

Spotlight Focus: Care Team

Get to Know the Care Team

For those who are home-bound or experiencing an illness or recent surgery that keeps them away from the church, this compassionate and dedicated team shows that our sense of community does not stop at the church doors. They collaborate with Rev. Joe Ed Goolsby to make sure all are cared for within our congregation. While the pandemic and its restrictions altered some of their works, they never stopped finding new ways to build a bridge to those who needed them most. Through notes, cards, and phone calls, they continue to reach out to an ever-changing list they maintain, which helps to update our prayer lists, know where pastors are needed to make visits, and make suggestions for the Youth's Adopt A Sweetheart. They call on our Casserole Christians volunteers for meals and mail out large-print sermons each week. They have even been known to deliver wonderful baskets of holiday treats to homebound members.

If you have questions about the Care Team, would like to volunteer as a Casserole Christian, or would like to update the address of a homebound member, please email [email protected]

Note from your Finance Chair

“Enter In” your calendar this reminder to set up your summer giving

Summer is here! School may be out and most of your favorite activities are taking their summer hiatus, but while you might be out of town for vacation, the church is still here for you. We have worked tirelessly together to build momentum that led to a successful financial campaign with pledges that are moving us forward. The Finance Committee and the Board would like to thank you for this incredible show of support and your faithfulness in giving.

While the summer can be a break from many things, please don’t take a break from giving. Vacation Bible School, summer camps, summer bible studies, and more rely on your continued support of the operating budgets to keep us going.

• Set up recurring giving with your card or bank information. Click here, where you can select the fund you want to direct your gift to and how often you would like to give.

• Through your bank, set up a recurring payment.

• Set a reminder on your phone and give through text from the beach, cabin, cruise ship, or from your pew on Sunday by texting FUMCSHERMAN to 73256.